My apologies for doing so sporadic posting here: this book has ended up being so much more time-consuming than expected, but I think the final result will be worth it. I should have the PDF version to give away here at the blog one month from now if all goes well! :-)
HODIE: ante diem septimum Kalendas Augustas (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar).
LATIN AND ENGLISH FABLES: Here are today's fables in Latin AND English from the English Aesop project.
- The Goldfinch and the Boy = Carduelis et Puer.
- The Boy and the Teacher = Puer et Praeceptor.
- The Pig Denounced by the Sheep = Porcus ab Ovibus Criminatus.
- The Mice who Watched the Cat = Mures Felem Contemplantes.
- The Hoopoe Honored by the Eagle = Upupa ab Aquila Honorata.
A pig had been denounced by the sheep because he never showed any thanks to their master, who fed the pig so generously, while the sheep offered him milk, wool and their lambs. "When I am dead," said the pig, "I'll show my thanks; he has his own reasons for feeding me."TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.
Porcus, criminatus ab Ovibus, quod domino, a quo tanta pascebatur diligentia, nullam referret gratiam, cum ipsae lac, lanam, agnosque illi praeberent. "Mortuus," inquit, "referam; non ab re me nutrit."
3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is Ostendo, non ostento (English: I show; I do not boast).
3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Furem praeda vocat (English: The loot summons the thief - much like the English proverb, "Opportunity makes the thief").
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Amore, more, ore, re iunguntur amicitiae (English: With love, character, speech and deed, friendships are cemented - although, of course, it's impossible to capture the amazing word play of the Latin version!).
Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Plantate hortos et comedite fructum eorum (Jer. 29:5). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.
Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Conybeare: Caelum digito attingere: To touche heaven with his finger. A proverbe applyed to them which suppose themselves able to doe thinges impossible or to be of great power..
Today's Poem: Today's poem is one of those elegant little epigrams by Owen (10.88) with a word list at NoDictionaries.com:
Magna quidem virtus nummis est posse potiri.English: "It is a great virtue indeed to be able to be the master of money, it is a greater virtue to know how to use that money, and it is the greatest virtue of all to be willing to enjoy it."
Scire uti maior, maxima velle frui.
For an image today, here is an illustration for a different Aesop's fable about pigs and sheep - but I think it goes nicely with Abstemius's story about the pig as cited above (image source):
